Water Softener Information page

TM

If you were looking for a place where you can get high quality dealer equipment professionally installed by a company that highly values their reputation of excellent customer service and workmanship without paying thousands for it..........

Welcome toHardAss Water ConditioningTM!!

Although this page is named "Water Softener Info", it has a lot of information on a variety of equipment that we carry. We also include some information on choosing between "store bought" units for those who are looking into that option.

HardAss Water is a service based company and not sales based. That means our main focus is customer service no matter where your equipment comes from.

*The HardAss Water Advantage*

Our systems come with a 5 year Manufacturers warranty, but it doesn't cover labor or trip charges. When you purchase a system from and have your system installed by HardAss Water Conditioning, we extend the coverage of that 5 year warranty to any trip fees*, service call/labor charges*, and to the actual installation work*. If anything happens from the very first pipe fitting to the last while under warranty, you pay absolutely nothing to have it repaired.

*excludes owner caused issues (example: hitting it with a car)

We do not carry undersized or used softeners in order to have a unbelieveably low "starting at price".We only supply straight forward full-size brand new equipment at the best possible price for that equipment.

The valve we use combines an updated very strong single piston construction with digital user friendliness and efficiency. These are high quality durable dealer systems that can more than compete pricewise with the "Store brand" units. These are also the same dealer units that even moderately priced companies sell for $1,500 to $3,000 and up!

AtHardAss Wateryou get dealer equipment without the typical dealer mark-up!

Water Softener size/price options:

32,000grain system*:$700.00,

-or-

48,000grain system*:$750.00 (best value)

Both are 2 tank systems that include the bypass, black resin tank, black square brine tank and electronics cover. Larger systems available upon request.

*Prices are for the system only, does not include the installation due to variances of installs.

For information about Resin Crosslink percentage as well as a more detailed explanation of the equipment we use, check out the bottom of the FAQ's page.

NOTE:We do not ship softeners anywhere!

There have been issues with untrained inexperienced people buying them from random sites, doing the install themselves incorrect in some way, and then blaming the equipment potentially giving the manufacturer who had nothing to do with any of it a bad name and a lot of unwarranted troubles. Also, we would not be physically able to honor the warranty or take responsibilty for units outside of our service area if we were to do that (which other companies apparently have no problem with). We atHardAss Waterwill not be a part of putting a good innocent company's name at risk (or ours) to make a few extra dollars, therefore we do not ship softeners nor sell them without the installation as well.

Also Recommended:

Protect Your Softener:

Have a "Big Blue" Whole-house Carbon Water Filter System installed before your water softener. It is a huge filter system that mounts to your wall and removes sediment, tastes, and odors. It also removes the chlorine that is present in city water which can damage resin, and severely reduce your softener's lifespan.

This filter system is larger than any filter system that you can buy in stores and the filter under normal city water conditions typically lasts a year. Replacement filters are widely available through HardAss Water and a variety of other places.

We use a 20" Radial Flow carbon filter for maximum flow rate and filter life. They are $75 and if you would like the filter replaced for you, filter change service is available for only $49!

Photo doesn't show scale, so we've included the dimensions.

Filter housing: 6" wide (8" at top) and just over 2 feet tall

Filter: 20" tall x 4 1/2" wide

For a better explanation of how a "BB" Filter system protects your softener when filtering your water, please see the bottom of the FAQ's page.

Extra Protection: A "spinfilter" installed after your water treatment equipment can save you time and money if your equipment ever fails and the media (resin, carbon, etc.) is sent through to your house. A spin filter catches the media before it gets into your house and clogs your fixtures. Instead of spending hours flushing fixtures, you just turn a valve and flush it all down the drain. Not really necessary, but some people feel better with one in place.

Combined with water softener installation$135, Without$170

Includes: Housing, filter, and installation.

Pure Water:A Reverse Osmosis Unit is the best way to produce purified water (not just filtered) at home. An R.O. runs water through a series of filters including the important part, the membrane. The membrane seperates the water, sending the pure water into a storage tank and the waste water down the drain. It mounts easily under the sink and saves you from buying gallons upon gallons of bottled water.

Have a 4-stage Reverse Osmosis installed for only:

$375(All inclusive installed total)

*** Special***

Have your Reverse Osmosis filters been discontinued or are you just thinking about a new one?

We are now running a Reverse Osmosis replacement special!

For a limited time and for replacements installations only:

$300 (flat rate all inclusive total)

See Services page for softener installation prices and our Salt/Check-up Service Plan

At one point we did consider carrying a type of de-scaler/no-salt system as an option for customers. Unfortunately there is not one type that we trust will work.

After a consult from chemist Stephen Lower about the ones we were going to offer and learning even more on his website which checks the science behind the claims of water products, we will continue to not supply any. However we will supply you a link to his site to cross reference any obscure water products that you may have questions about.

Most water treatment companies will not deal with ( and usually ridicule) these softeners because: a) they can't compete with their prices and b) they don't know how to service them.

HardAss Waterhowever, can do both!

We are honest about and deal with these softeners because: a) they are a decent value for decent equipment, b) under proper conditions (garage kept, city water, etc.) they perform just about as well as other softeners on the market, and c) as a full service water treatment company, it's our job.

A few quick notes on store-bought softeners:

#1 Almost all of the store bought softeners are 1 tank systems (meaning the resin tank is inside the salt tank). The dealer brands can be either 1 tank or seperate (2 tanks), although most commonly found seperate. Also, 90% of store bought softeners (including brands such as G.E., Kenmore, Whirlpool, Northstar and Morton) are produced by EcoWater Systems and have the exact same working parts. The body styles, colors, capacities, programming features, and valve sizes are the only differences. With proper maintenence, these units can last as long as an average of 12-15 years.

#2 The higher the grain capacity is, the more water it can go through before it needs to regenerate. Which means you use less salt and water. So if you have a high water usage, you would want to purchase a higher capacity softener.

#3 The larger store bought brands have a stronger head/valve than the smaller ones. Parts that wear out in the smaller ones, are bigger in, and generally don't fail in the larger ones.

#4 Although store-bought brands are perfectly fine; the durability, performance, options, and strength of the dealer brands are worth the price you pay for them. These softeners are available well into commercial ranges but, residentially prices average from $700-$950.

Pictures to help identify store-bought units:

This is a photo of the larger head, which is the tougher more durable head. The easiest way to remember which one your looking for is the bolts around the outside. Notice this valve has 5 bolts showing and 3 not shown in this picture. A total of 8 bolts. The smaller head only has 5 total. The bypass valve is another way to identify between the two. (Shown Below)

This is a picture of the bypass used on the larger head of the "store bought softeners". It has a "horn" appearance on one end and does not include attached O-rings like the smaller one (pictured below). Also on the larger one, the end that inserts into the softener has a distinct "2 ridge" look to it where the smaller one does not.

This is the bypass for the smaller "store bought softeners" and pictured below is a "side by side" comparison.

These pictures are here as a visual reference so that if you know what you want, you'll know what to look for, or in some cases know what you have now. This way you don't have to hope the salesman sold you the right thing, you can see they did. It makes it easier on you when you can walk into a store knowing exactly what you want.

Prices vary due to different sales and promotions. When purchasing store bought softeners, you can wait for a good sale and then call us for installation after you purchase it. Store bought softeners can be delivered to your house at the time of installation for a $35 fee. Any way you choose, you get a quality softener, professionally installed, and in most cases well under $1000.

Project In Works For This Area:

More Coming Soon!!!

TM

Lugging the water loadfor the people of Duval, Clay, and St. Johns counties!!!!